3,000 Occupy Tahrir Square After Clashes With Riot Police

Thousands of protesters calling for an end to military rule have regained control of Tahrir Square on Sunday night after violent clashes with riot police the day before. At least eleven have died and over 900 have been seriously injured, with many treated for “severe gas inhalation and flesh wounds from different types of ammunition” in hastily erected field hospitals, some in mosques and churches. Demonstrators say that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has ruled Egypt since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, is seeking to retain its grip on power and attempting to take control of the revolution.

As many as 3,000 protesters, many with gas masks, stones and Molotov cocktails in hand, have returned to Tahrir Square and are calling for reinforcements, while seeking to keep the police from reentering the iconic center of Egypt’s uprising. Earlier in the day, police had set fire to tents and protesters’ motorcycles and other belongings. Said Salma Said, a democracy activist, to Al Jazeera:

“This is what the Egyptian army calls protecting the revolution.

“We’ve lost so many people in the last nine months. We want [interim military leader] Field Marshall Tantawi gone. We’re going to keep fighting; we donít have any other options.”

Egyptian state television also said that about 59 soldiers and 21 officers had been injured during the fighting. A young man wrote a telephone number on his arm so his mother could be called if he died.

The generals leading the SCAF have said they will continue ruling until a new constitution is created. They have refused to set a date for presidential elections. Many have accused the SCAF of in effect hijacking the revolution; some have †said that it could have played a role in instigating the clashes days before elections are to be held on November 28, to show that Egypt is still in need of military rule.

“I will do anything to save the country from falling apart and what we are seeing right now is the country going down. People are calling on me to present this government, and I will do whatever it takes to save our country from falling apart.”

Bothaina Kamel, Egypt’s only female presidential candidate and an outspoken opponent of military rule, is thought to have been arrested during the clashes. Just before her detention, Kamel said that the violence revealed that “the ugly face of Mubarak that has been lurking behind Scaf all along.” She also gave her support to ElBaradei to lead a transitional civilian government though such would “throw Egypt into unprecedented confusion,” as this would mean that two rival political bodies would be claiming to be Egypt’s government. Any self-declared civilian authority would have to have the support of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice party is thought likely to prevail in the elections.

Said†Ahmed Hamza, a lawyer who, like many, has vowed to stay in Tahrir Square until the SCAF commits to step down from power soon, “I saw the revolution being slain, so I had to come.”

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41 comments

However, they would also like to see Egypt turned into an Islamic State something akin to the Iranian theocratic concept. Please do not see this as an overjoy that protesters want to let military rule ends.

Egypt is living rough hours, but Ginger is PARTLY right. The news we get are not 100% faitfull (are they ever?) and some issues are exploited in order to sell more.
I don't know whether gInger made teh touristic circuits of Greece and EGypt, but I last visited Egypt in Spetember this year and didn't do the touristic routes.
I have lived in Egypt for a long time, my fiancée and most of my friends are still there, my fiancée is photographer in an Egyptian newspaper (so I am worried as he's been assigned to all the revolts for the last year). I have also collaborated with the English version of the same paper (culture & science basically), so I don't think I can be tagged as a tourist. For those wondering, I moved out of Egypt in 2009 for family issues in Spain, so I did not leave for the revolution but have been travelling back and forth regularly.

What I'd like to point out is that this situation was predictable and that is why I was already outraged when the foreign countries "Pushed" this revolution without making sure it was done correctly.
It was clear a mess was coming, and instead of making sure a transition was achieved correctly, foreign countries simply encouraged the mess that was about to happen and put all the blame on Mubarak forgetting it teh system behind him and how the country works (and how its population might react). Egyptians believe change will come immediately. We have encouraged this belief and this is not so. This is one of the

What this really means is the people in the past at Tahrir Square created and took a peaceful stance for democracy but unfortunately only did one thing; they gave the military an excuse to get rid of Mubarak and take power from him and his family. Getting rid of Mubarak was a good thing; he was nowhere near the man Sadat was. The military leaders also knew that Mubarak was ill and they did not want to see his son come to power. However, now Egypt will become another Syria. The military people in charge don't care about the people or democracy, only the power the people accidently gave them.

The people made the mistake of trusting the military and left Tahrir without receiving all their demands or achieving all their goals. They should have made partnerships with people who could have taken Mubarak's place in the interim. They trusted the wrong people. Now I fear it will unfortunately take bloodshed. I wish them well and hope they have learned from their naivety.

Janie what your saying does not make any sense. A revolution is about forcing change but the power happens as leaders come forward during the revolution. In the Middle East the one leader who came forward before hand was the food vender who set himself on fire due to the governments mistreatment of him as he was trying to make a living. What I have come to realize is you don't need leaders you need numbers. Look at what OWS has done so far and all without leaders. They are slowly but surely making changes in the way our politicans are acring. Now the right will continue to make them look like trouble makers but the view on the ground is much different. They are normally law abiding citizen that are taking to the streets on behalf of those that have no voice,

Ginger S - you visited the tourist sites in Egypt and Greece. Don't you think that any government will "scrub" those areas so that there are no visible protests? That is the bread and butter of those areas, and also their world image. So there was nothing going on while you were there, yet your husband saw a story about a big protest. What are you saying - the story was faked? Does it occur to you most of it happened after you left, or in an area they cut off from the tourists? You saw all the niceties the governments in power wanted you to see so the tourist industry will not go into the toilet.

11 dead and 900 injured in protests is a big deal anywhere.

I hope for the best for those in Egypt and Greece who are struggling. Especially I hope that the citizens of Egypt can get the type of government that they have been fighting for all along.